European Countries English Skills Report 2019

2019
EF EPI
EF English Proficiency Index
A Ranking of 100 Countries and Regions by English Skills
EF SET
EF Standard English Test
Take the free test at
www.efset.org
www.ef.com/epi
Whatʼs new this year?
1. 2.3 million test takers, a 77% increase

over last year
2. Eight new countries: Bahrain, Ivory

Coast, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives,
Nepal, Paraguay, and Sudan
3. Indications that men are catching up to

women in their English skills
4. A closer look at how English proficiency,

international engagement, and global
connectivity are related
5. A detailed look at students’ English in the

EF English Proficiency Index for Schools
(EF EPI-s) companion report, available at
www.ef.com/epi
2 www.ef.com/epi
Participate in the EF EPI: take the free EF SET at efset.org
Table of Contents
04 Executive Summary
06 EF EPI 2019 Ranking of Countries and Regions
08 EF EPI 2019 City Scores
10 EF EPI Facts and Figures
12 English and Innovation
14 English and Work
16 English and the Economy
18 English and Society
20 Europe
24 Asia
28 Latin America
32 Africa
36 Middle East
40 Conclusions
42 Recommendations
44 Appendix A: About the Index
46 Appendix B: EF EPI Proficiency Bands
47 Appendix C: CEFR Levels and Can-Do Statements
48 Appendix D: EF EPI Country and Region Scores
50 Appendix E: Selected References
3
Executive Summary
In today’s world, the English language demonstrates a strong

network effect: the more people use it, the more useful it becomes.
More than a billion people speak English English proficiency is improving Technology spreads English
as a first or second language, and hundreds The worldwide, population-weighted Technology-enabled distance education
of millions more as a third or fourth. For average English proficiency score could one day allow anyone to learn English
expanding businesses, young graduates, remained stable, but 11 countries’ scores for a competitive price, wherever they are.
scientists and researchers, and international improved significantly (meaning they While that potential has not yet been fully
tourists, English proficiency broadens gained more than two points), while only realized, we’ve found consistent correlations
horizons, lowers barriers, and speeds four experienced significant declines. between English proficiency and measures
information exchange. The incentives to There are more countries in the Very High of technology adoption, such as secure
learn English have never been greater. Proficiency band this year than ever before. servers per capita, information and
communication technology (ICT) exports,
And yet, the demand for English proficiency English and innovation go hand in hand and broadband subscriptions. Access to
far outpaces supply. Education systems English is the principal language of English-language media speeds up many
founded in response to the first industrial international collaboration, and as in people’s learning process too.
revolution have yet to adapt to the demands previous editions of the report, we
of the fourth. A front-loaded culture of found correlations between English and Adults in their late twenties speak
learning leaves adults little time to reskill. various measures of investment in R&D. the best English
The growth of the gig economy asks This finding resonates with recent For the first time, we find that adults
people to transition quickly from research showing that companies with aged 26-30 have the strongest English
declining to emerging opportunities. managers from many countries earn skills. This finding reflects the growing
more revenue from innovation than their prominence of English instruction in
We often see English proficiency presented less diverse competitors. English-speaking university education around the world.
as a competitive advantage, but our analysis teams are able to attract more diverse It also suggests that on-the-job English
suggests that it is equally significant for the talent and access ideas from around practice and often some formal training
connections it enables. These connections the world. They are also more likely to are building English proficiency early in
may help individuals find better jobs or collaborate internationally within their adults’ careers. Adults aged 21-25 have the
start their own businesses, but they are also own organizations. second-best average English proficiency
intrinsically valuable. Connection is one of score in this year’s report.
the defining characteristics of the global Countries with high English proficiency
citizen—curiosity, contact, and a sense of are more fair and more open Managers speak the most English
shared responsibility beyond one’s own There is an increasingly clear relationship Worldwide, there is a gap of more than
borders—and speaking English today is all between a society’s connectedness three points between the English
about connection. to the world and the level of social and proficiency scores of managers and those
political equality experienced by its of their colleagues in executive and staff
This report investigates how and where citizens. Closed societies turn inwards positions. Managers interact with their
English proficiency is developing around and nurture rigid hierarchies. Open colleagues and clients overseas more
the world. To create the ninth edition of societies look outwards. They are flatter, regularly than junior staff, so they get more
the EF English Proficiency Index, we have fairer places. English, as a medium of practice speaking English. Additionally,
analyzed the results of 2.3 million adults international connectivity, correlates because English skills are at a premium,
who took our English tests in 2018. well with measures of both equality and those who have them are often promoted
engagement with the outside world. to managerial positions. Executives,
Our key findings are:
though, tend to be older, and many came
of age in a business climate where English
skills were less valued. Building English
proficiency across all seniority levels would
allow companies to share information more
quickly across their organizations, and to
access more diverse pools of talent.
4 www.ef.com/epi
Competitive industries use English The gender gap is closing Latin America is turning around
Every industry surveyed in this year’s Last year, women’s average English level Twelve of the 18 countries surveyed in
report has an English proficiency score was higher than men’s worldwide and in a Latin America this year improved their
clustered within a 10 point range, except majority of countries. That gap has closed English proficiency between 2017 and 2018,
for two: education and government. English significantly. Women outscored men by many of them significantly. The population-
proficiency in these less competitive less than one point in Africa, Asia, and weighted regional average did not change,
sectors is far lower than in other industries. Europe. In Latin America, men’s scores however, because the region’s two most
Of course, public servants’ priority is were higher than women’s for the first time, populous countries, Mexico and Brazil,
serving their fellow citizens. But English is albeit by a small margin. In the Middle East, experienced slight declines. Other Latin
an essential skill for diplomats, teachers, men’s average score continues to outpace American countries, many of which have
government workers in countries with women’s by a significant margin, and the invested heavily in teacher training in recent
diverse linguistic landscapes, and any gender gap has widened since last year. years, are at last seeing real improvement.
professional who wants to access global
best practices, learn from international European English skills are polarized Africa skews high and low
colleagues, and remain adaptable in a English proficiency levels are rising in As in previous years, a few African
changing economy. the European Union, with more EU countries performed well while the rest
countries than ever in the Very High performed poorly, and the gap between
Non-English speakers cluster in Proficiency band. France’s scores have higher and lower proficiency countries
specific job functions improved for the past two years, but Spain is wider than ever. The overall average
There is a growing gap between job and Italy still lag behind the rest of the for Africa dropped significantly, primarily
functions with high average English EU. There is also a polarizing effect in the due to score changes in South Africa
proficiency and those for which language region, with most of the EU’s neighbors not and Ethiopia—both countries with large
skills seem to be lagging. Some of the developing English proficiency at the same populations—and to the inclusion of
results are stark: for example, if all the pace as member states. Sudan and Cameroon, which were not in
people working in administrative and clerical the Index last year, and both fall in the
positions were counted in the Index as a Asia spans the spectrum Very Low Proficiency band.
single country, they would rank 94th out English proficiency in Asia declined slightly
of 100 this year. Of course, not every job compared to last year, with over half the The Middle East falls further behind
requires English. But most people will not countries surveyed registering a drop in English proficiency in the Middle East
stay in one job for the duration of a 40- or score. As was the case last year, Asia is the remains the lowest in the world by a wide
50-year career, and English proficiency is region with the widest range of proficiency margin. The regional average fell slightly
critical for adaptability. The divide between levels—an unsurprising finding, given its compared to last year’s report. Government
those who speak English and those who size. China has consolidated its progress efforts to improve English proficiency in the
do not, and the jobs that require English over the past decade, moving from low to Middle East are not yet delivering results,
and those that do not, will only grow larger, moderate proficiency for the first time. but the region may be poised for a change.
rendering companies less flexible and
individuals less mobile.
5
EF EPI 2019
Ranking of Countries and Regions
Proficiency Bands
Very High
High
Moderate
Low
Very Low
Very High Proficiency High Proficiency Moderate Proficiency

01 Netherlands 70.27 15 Hungary 61.86 30 Costa Rica 57.38 39 Uruguay 54.08
02 Sweden 68.74 16 Romania 61.36 31 France 57.25 40 China 53.44
03 Norway 67.93 17 Serbia 61.30 32 Latvia 56.85 41 Macau, China 53.34
04 Denmark 67.87 18 Kenya 60.51 33 Hong Kong, China 55.63 42 Chile 52.89
05 Singapore 66.82 19 Switzerland 60.23 34 India 55.49 43 Cuba 52.70
06 South Africa 65.38 20 Philippines 60.14 35 Spain 55.46 44 Dominican Republic 52.58
07 Finland 65.34 21 Lithuania 60.11 36 Italy 55.31 45 Paraguay 52.51
08 Austria 64.11 22 Greece 59.87 37 South Korea 55.04 46 Guatemala 52.50
09 Luxembourg 64.03 23 Czech Republic 59.30 38 Taiwan, China 54.18
10 Germany 63.77 24 Bulgaria 58.97
11 Poland 63.76 25 Slovakia 58.82
12 Portugal 63.14 26 Malaysia 58.55
13 Belgium 63.09 27 Argentina 58.38
14 Croatia 63.07 28 Estonia 58.29
29 Nigeria 58.26
6 www.ef.com/epi
Low Proficiency Very Low Proficiency
47 Belarus 52.39 59 Brazil 50.10 70 U.A.E. 48.19 86 Myanmar 46.00
48 Russia 52.14 60 El Salvador 50.09 71 Bangladesh 48.11 87 Sudan 45.94
49 Ukraine 52.13 61 Indonesia 50.06 72 Maldives 48.02 88 Mongolia 45.56
50 Albania 51.99 62 Nicaragua 49.89 73 Venezuela 47.81 89 Afghanistan 45.36
51 Bolivia 51.64 63 Ethiopia 49.64 74 Thailand 47.61 90 Algeria 45.28
52 Vietnam 51.57 64 Panama 49.60 75 Jordan 47.21 91 Angola 44.54
53 Japan 51.51 65 Tunisia 49.04 76 Morocco 47.19 92 Oman 44.39
54 Pakistan 51.41 66 Nepal 49.00 77 Egypt 47.11 93 Kazakhstan 43.83
55 Bahrain 50.92 67 Mexico 48.99 78 Sri Lanka 47.10 94 Cambodia 43.78
56 Georgia 50.62 68 Colombia 48.75 79 Turkey 46.81 95 Uzbekistan 43.18
57 Honduras 50.53 69 Iran 48.69 80 Qatar 46.79 96 Ivory Coast 42.41
58 Peru 50.22 81 Ecuador 46.57 97 Iraq 42.39
82 Syria 46.36 98 Saudi Arabia 41.60
83 Cameroon 46.28 99 Kyrgyzstan 41.51
84 Kuwait 46.22 100 Libya 40.87
85 Azerbaijan 46.13
7
EF EPI 2019 City Scores
Proficiency Bands
Very High
High
Moderate
Low
Very Low
Very High Proficiency High Proficiency Moderate Proficiency

Amsterdam 71.35 Nairobi 61.94 Madrid 57.35 Guadalajara 53.93
Stockholm 69.24 Bratislava 61.88 Taipei 57.33 Moscow 53.86
Copenhagen 68.52 Belgrade 61.42 Seoul 57.14 Hanoi 53.68
Helsinki 66.21 Prague 61.29 Milan 57.12 Minsk 53.58
Oslo 65.89 Buenos Aires 60.87 Shanghai 56.64 Guatemala City 53.51
Vienna 65.63 Paris 60.28 Rome 56.28 Kiev 53.51
Berlin 65.51 San Jose 59.32 Havana 55.75 Ho Chi Minh City 53.07
Mumbai 65.38 Sofia 59.29 Beijing 55.68 Dubai 52.84
Hamburg 64.72 Hyderabad 58.96 Montevideo 55.59 Chengdu 52.69
Warsaw 64.68 Cordoba (AR) 58.90 Saint Petersburg 54.94 Jakarta 52.58
Lisbon 64.50 Lagos 58.47 Mexico City 54.80 Tokyo 52.58
Bucharest 64.45 Lyon 58.22 Santiago 54.79 Panama City 52.54
Budapest 64.27 Barcelona 57.97 Monterrey 54.20 Brasilia 52.50
Zagreb 64.14
Davao City 63.85
Manila 63.69
Porto 63.65
Brussels 63.56
Kuala Lumpur 63.42
New Delhi 62.66
8 www.ef.com/epi
Low Proficiency Very Low Proficiency
Guangzhou 52.42 Khartoum 48.39 English proficiency scores for over 400 regions and
Rio de Janeiro 52.39 Algiers 48.33 cities, as well as national gender, age, and industry
data, are available for download at www.ef.com/epi.
Tirana 52.32 Amman 48.32
Shenzhen 52.32 Yangon 47.49
Bandung 52.32 Tijuana 47.31
Surabaya 52.31 Nur-Sultan 46.48
Santo Domingo 52.09 Doha 46.38
Lima 51.86 Almaty 45.41
Sao Paulo 51.44 Baku 45.40
Medellin 51.35 Baghdad 45.06
Tbilisi 51.24 Kabul 45.02
Tehran 51.23 Damascus 45.02
Quito 51.13 Bishkek 43.73
San Salvador 51.01 Jeddah 42.95
Bangkok 50.70 Riyadh 42.90
Tunis 50.60 Tashkent 42.52
Cali 50.53
Managua 49.97
Bogota 49.80
Caracas 49.44
Cairo 49.27
Ankara 49.15
Casablanca 49.13
Dhaka 48.67
Istanbul 48.65
9
EF EPI Facts and Figures
Who are the test takers?
2.3M 90%
Total Test Takers
59%
Female
Under 40
years old
23
Middle East
10 Europe
100
33
Africa
13
Years
old
Latin
America
19
Countries
and Regions Asia
25
41%
Male
Median Age
How do gender and age affect English proficiency?
Global Gender Gap Global Generation Gap

EF EPI Score EF EPI Score
70 70
65 65
60 60
55 55 54.36
53.23 53.03 52.99 53.08 52.45
50.79
50 50
45 45
40 40
35 35
30 30
Female Male 18-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41+
Age Groups
10 www.ef.com/epi
EF EPI 2019 regional trends
Europe Asia Africa Latin America Middle East
Highest Score Netherlands Singapore South Africa Argentina Bahrain

70.27 66.82 65.38 58.38 50.92
Lowest Score Azerbaijan Kyrgyzstan Libya Ecuador Saudi Arabia

46.13 41.51 40.87 46.57 41.60
Most Improved Portugal Taiwan, China Cameroon Bolivia Iraq

+3.12 +2.30 +3.83 +2.77 +1.57
Largest Decline Luxembourg Sri Lanka Egypt Dominican Republic Saudi Arabia
-2.30 -2.29 -1.65 -2.39 -2.05
EF EPI 2019 regional scores
EF EPI Regional Averages

EF EPI Score
70
65
60
56.71
55
53.00 World Average Score 53.13
50.34 50.28
50
45
44.60
40
35
30
Europe Asia Latin America Africa Middle East
Proficiency Bands Very High High Moderate Low Very Low
11
English and Innovation
Propelled by digital tools, the 21st competitors to network, learn about each In terms of the number of papers
century has seen an unprecedented other’s research, and develop new ideas. published, China’s scientific production
exchange of information and ideas across In 2017, the Union of International is progressively outstripping that of the
borders. As global English skills improve Associations cataloged 10,786 meetings United States. But in the past, the impact
and the costs of travel and communication and conventions in 166 countries around of the country’s research was hampered
decline, that exchange will only speed up. the world. There were more than 3,700 by a lack of international collaboration.
TEDx conferences in 2018 alone. Papers published in English are much
Today, scientists and engineers simply likelier to be cited than those published
cannot afford to miss out on global Exciting as this collaborative ecosystem in another language. In November
innovation because of language barriers, can be, even the best collaboration 2018, The Economist reported that
and it is not just them who need to access platform cannot function when employees bonuses for Chinese scientists who
new ideas. In every field, professionals do not speak the same language. And those get a paper published in Nature were
need to stay abreast of international best meetings and conferences take place almost as high as 165,000 USD.
practices. For companies, too, a culture of entirely in English. From teachers to CEOs,
English proficiency makes it possible to tap those who speak English have broader Where new ideas come from
pools of talent and expertise that, just a few contact with their peers and better access Diversity has an impact on innovation—
years ago, would have been out of reach. to the best minds and ideas in their fields. an impact that researchers are only
beginning to fully understand. A growing
Reflecting these trends, we have found a See and be seen body of academic research shows that
high correlation between English proficiency Cutting-edge scientific research diverse groups make better decisions,
and the Global Talent Competitiveness today proceeds through complex, rely more on facts than opinions, and
Index (Graph A), a report that assesses a collaborative projects. The days of demonstrate less cognitive bias than
country’s ability to attract, develop, and individual labs working on their own is homogenous groups. Cultural diversity,
retain skilled workers. coming to an end, and leveraging the in particular, is correlated with innovation.
resources of teams in different labs is Research by McKinsey & Company in
Meetings of minds often a requirement for funding. In 2017, 2017 found that companies with executive
Tools for collaboration are only getting 60% of articles in the Nature Index were teams in the top quartile for cultural
better. Online, work-based social media international collaborations, a higher diversity are 33% more likely to have
and collaboration tools are on the rise, proportion than ever before. It is not industry-leading profitability. And English
enabling more frequent and more casual surprising, then, to find a strong correlation proficiency enables diversity: of the top
communication between employees in between a country’s English proficiency 100 companies in the Thomson Reuters
different locations. Back in the physical and the number of scientific and technical IX Global Diversity and Inclusion Index
world, international conferences and journal articles per capita (Graph B) as well 2018, only seven are headquartered in
summits are now the norm in a wide as its investment in R&D, in terms of both countries with low English proficiency.
range of fields, allowing colleagues and capital and human resources.
Bright Ideas
English proficiency is positively correlated with several key measures of innovation,
including public investment in research and development, and researchers and
technicians per capita.
2.1
1.0 1.0
0.4 0.5
Researchers per
Proficiency Bands
R&D Expenditure million people
as a % of GDP 4,738 Very High
High
2,141
1,949 Moderate
787 Low
519
Very Low
Source: World Bank, 2016
12 www.ef.com/epi
Proficiency Bands GRAPH A
Very High English and Talent

High Global Talent Competitiveness Index
Moderate 90
Sweden
Low 80 Japan Estonia
Very Low 70 Chile
Saudi Arabia
60
50
40
30 Poland
Guatemala Argentina
20
Vietnam
10
Venezuela R=0.65
0
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
EF EPI Score
Source: Lanvin & Monteiro, 2019
GRAPH B
English and Scholarship

Scientific and Technical Journal Articles (per million people)
2,000
Czech
Republic
1,600 Finland
South
Korea
1,200
Austria
800 Qatar
Brazil
400
Sudan Philippines
R=0.75
0
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
Mexico China EF EPI Score

13
English and Work
Modern workplaces are evolving rapidly, driven by Public vs. Private

digital technology, the growth of the gig economy, and
the rising value of social capital in individual consumption English proficiency across all competitive industries is remarkably
patterns. It is no longer enough that companies compete in homogenous, with fewer than 10 points separating logistics, at
the global marketplace. They are increasingly expected to the bottom of the range, from pharmaceuticals at the top. Public
behave ethically, actively engage their customers, and weed sector workers and educators lag far behind their peers in the
out bad actors before they can tarnish the brand. Indeed, private sector.
the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer reported that 56% of
At first glance, this may seem like an intuitive result. After all, if
people worldwide trust businesses “to do what is right,”
any sector is limited by national boundaries, it’s the public sector.
versus just 47% who trust their governments.
However, many government and education roles—including English
These rapid changes have caused a boom in teaching, diplomacy, research, and international peacekeeping
employee education. Sloan Management Review and missions—directly require English proficiency, and, for any role,
Deloitte’s 2018 Digital Business Global Executive Study speaking English gives professionals access to a broader range of
and Research Project, which surveyed 4,300 executives ideas, practices, and people. In addition, having English skills on
and professionals from around the world, found that 90% par with the private sector would allow public employees to pursue
think they need to update their skills at least annually, other career opportunities in reaction to changes in the economy
and 44% see development as a year-round exercise. or in their personal lives. A career for life is an artifact of the past.
The enormous English proficiency gap between public and private
At the same time, the growing proportion of workers in sector employees should be a major concern for the governments
atypical work arrangements, such as contract, freelance, with workforces that are ill-equipped to work for anyone else.
part-time, and gig work, means that more and more
people are left out of existing training models. Managing
external talent segments and optimizing the workforce
ecosystem will require new ways of thinking about training
EF EPI by Industry
and development. Autonomous learning has the potential
to address some of these issues, with employee-managed EF EPI Score 20 40 60
individual training accounts that receive contributions from
both employers and government, and externally inspected
micro-credentials to guarantee skill portability. Pharmaceuticals
Banking & Finance

Current workforce English proficiency as measured by
this data should not be interpreted as the target English Information Technology
level for particular industries or job functions. Rather, it offers
a snapshot of current average English skills in the global Telecommunications
workforce. Many working professionals do not have a Consulting
sufficient mastery of English to be fully productive in their
current roles or to evolve into new ones. Those charged with Healthcare
employee training and development must take a strategic
Electronics
view of the English proficiency requirements in each
function and for each individual within their organization. Automotive Industry
Fast-moving Consumer Goods
Engineering
Mining & Energy
Construction
Chemicals
Aviation
Insurance
Food & Beverage
Retail
Manufacturing
Logistics
Government
Education
14 www.ef.com/epi
Left out of the team Getting a promotion

Businesses today operate with high levels of collaboration, with Managers speak English better than executives and
flat, non-hierarchical structures and dedicated tools for internal staff in every region with sufficient data to report. The
networking. These innovations aim to make companies more skill gap is particularly wide in Latin America, which has
agile, more innovative, and fairer. But our data shows that some lower average adult English proficiency. This finding
parts of organizations have not been invited to the party. People suggests that companies in Latin America may have a
in clerical, distribution, accounting, and customer service roles sort of “English glass ceiling” operating on the transition
have, on average, much lower levels of English proficiency than from junior to managerial positions, in which staff are not
their coworkers. This gap prevents them from being productive promoted unless they speak English. The same rule does
members of multinational teams, and it limits their career not appear to apply to executives, where selection is stiffer
prospects. Recent research by the McKinsey Global Institute and other leadership qualities receive more attention.
finds that nearly two-thirds of jobs include a substantial share Executives are almost always older than the average
of tasks that could be automated, based on current technology. employee, and our data shows that people over 40 have
When the job market shrinks, people who lose their jobs need significantly less mastery of English on average. There may
opportunities to pivot to new positions. If their English skills are not always be qualified candidates for executive positions
lacking, that transition will prove challenging. who also have good English skills.
EF EPI by Job Function EF EPI by Seniority
EF EPI Score 20 40 60 EF EPI Score 20 40 60
Legal
World
Finance
R&D
Marketing
Europe
IT
Strategy & Planning
Purchasing & Procurement

Asia
Human Resources
Customer Service
Accounting
Latin America
Distribution
Admin & Clerical
Executive Manager Staff
15
English and the Economy
A lingua franca lowers transaction costs In developing countries, the transition Trust me, I speak English
across borders; the more widely English to a knowledge-based economy requires Speaking the same language as a
is adopted, the more savings it generates. building both infrastructure and a skilled trading partner is not only a technical
Although there is evidence that the pace workforce that is able to offer services necessity, but also a basis for building
of globalization is slowing, international internationally. In the past 30 years, many trust. That trust is reflected in the data:
trade is a significant portion of the world emerging economies closed the gap with economist Pankaj Ghemawat estimates
economy, with exports making up around richer countries thanks to manufacturing. that countries that share a language trade
20% of the world’s economic output. We As those opportunities dry up, they will 42% more with each other than they would
consistently find a correlation between ease need to focus more on education, for both if they did not share a language. Although
of doing business and a country’s English children and adults, if they are to tap into technology and AI will increasingly assist in
proficiency, as well as speaking English international trading opportunities and routine translation, we are a long way from
and a range of logistics-related indicators. develop service-sector industries. We find a language engine that can understand the
a correlation between a country’s level of cultural nuances humans routinely navigate
Human capital development human capital development and its English in everyday communication.
For economies around the world, proficiency (Graph D).
higher English proficiency correlates Far from the English-only business
with higher gross domestic product, Services from afar environment decried by linguistic
higher net income, and higher productivity Services represent a growing share protectionists, today’s multinational
(Graph C). To be clear, there’s no evidence of global economic activity, but they firms engage with a diverse linguistic
that English proficiency drives this economic are more difficult to export than goods. landscape. True, there is a drive to use
success. But the complex relationship iPhones can be shipped anywhere; English as the fastest and cheapest mode
between language skills and economic accountants cannot. There is a correlation of communication between speakers of
growth—with greater wealth facilitating between English proficiency and a different languages, but investment in other
more English training, and English skills country’s service exports as well as languages is high, too. According to national
helping economies stay competitive— the value added per worker in services. agencies for language promotion, at least
highlights the role that English can play in As the complexity and sophistication of 150 million people worldwide are currently
broader schemes for economic growth. economic exchange increases, so does the studying French, Spanish, or Chinese as
demand for linguisitic competencies. foreign languages. There is enormous
A growing number of MBA programs trust to be gained by learning the native
demand fluency in English and a second, languages of your partners.
sometimes third, language.
English pays off

We have found a consistently positive correlation between English proficiency
and a range of indicators of human and economic development, including
adjusted net income per capita.
36,949USD
12,680USD
10,995USD
Proficiency Bands
4,975USD 6,040USD Very High
High
Moderate
Low
Very Low
16 www.ef.com/epi
Proficiency Bands GRAPH C
Very High English and Productivity

High Labor Productivity (USD, per hour worked)
Moderate 100
Low
France
80
Very Low Switzerland Norway
Spain
60 Turkey
Russia
40
Thailand
Portugal
20
Romania
R=0.64
0 Colombia
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
EF EPI Score
Source: Cato Institute, 2017
GRAPH D
English and Human Capital

Human Capital Development Index
1.0 Singapore
0.9
Kazakhstan
0.8 Costa Rica
Iran
0.7
Serbia
0.6
0.5
South Africa
Uruguay
Ethiopia
Nigeria
0.4
Egypt R=0.59
0.3
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
EF EPI Score
17
English and Society
Adult English proficiency is a strong organizations thrive, tolerance of inequality Half the sky
proxy for the openness of a society. Where is low, and ideas are valued regardless of a Women form an essential part of a skilled
adults have learned to speak English, they person’s age or seniority. In these places, 21st century workforce. In the majority
are also, on the whole, more internationally English proficiency tends to be higher. of countries, both rich and developing,
mobile, more politically engaged, and women are more educated than men.
more progressive in their outlook on Looking out instead of in Yet their job opportunities are limited by
gender roles. That is not to say that there Although English does not undermine wage gaps, structural imbalances, and
is a neat cause and effect relationship. hierarchy directly, it may contribute cultural expectations that they will do
Instead, it seems likely that the same to broadening a society’s horizons. more than their share of unpaid work in the
forces that cause people to adopt English Demand for English learning has never home. All countries have much to gain by
as a global tool for communication also been higher, and there is no point systematically addressing these imbalances.
increase openness and reduce inequality. learning English if one does not intend
to communicate and travel across borders. In societies with more progressive
Balance of power With that movement comes freedom gender roles, people speak better
Adult English proficiency correlates to observe how the rest of the world English. The World Economic Forum’s
with Hofstede’s Power Distance Index operates. We find a very strong correlation Global Gender Gap Report measures how
(PDI), which measures the extent to between a country’s global connectedness well women fare relative to men in terms
which the less powerful members of an and its level of English, as well as robust of economic participation, educational
organization accept that power will be correlations between English and indices attainment, political empowerment, and
distributed unequally. The PDI captures of democracy, civil liberties, and political health. The EF EPI correlates with this index
perceptions about inequality in both rights. After contact with the outside world, (Graph F). Again, there is no simple cause
professional environments and family people often raise questions about their and effect relationship here. Speaking
structures. A higher score on the PDI is own societies, engage more deeply with English does not directly improve women’s
typical of rigid, hierarchical systems in global issues, and, in many cases, push for rights. Rather, societies that value gender
which subordinates and the young are change. There is a very strong correlation equality tend to be wealthier, more open,
expected to obey orders from above. In between English proficiency and the Good and more internationally minded, and
these societies, high levels of inequality Country Index (Graph E), a composite these are also the places where people
are the norm, as is lower English proficiency. measure of how much a country currently speak the best English.
At the opposite extreme, we find countries contributes to humanity as a whole, setting
and regions where flatter corporate aside its history.
Talk to the world

People who speak English are able to engage with the world beyond their
own borders. There’s a positive correlation between a country’s average
English proficiency and its global connectedness.
GCI 2018
73.93
62.40
56.50
48.26
45.14
Proficiency Bands
Very High
High
Moderate
Low
Very Low
Source: Global Connectedness Index, 2018
18 www.ef.com/epi
Proficiency Bands GRAPH E
Very High English and International Engagement

High Good Country Index (inverse)
Belgium
Moderate 160 Italy
Low
Very Low U.A.E. Denmark

120
Panama
80 Kenya
Paraguay Malaysia
40
Indonesia
R=0.74
Algeria
0
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
EF EPI Score
Source: Anholt, 2018
GRAPH F
English and Gender Equality

Global Gender Gap Index
0.9
Germany
Cuba
Bulgaria
0.8 Ecuador
Peru
0.7
Netherlands
Hungary
0.6 India
Jordan
R=0.61
Pakistan
0.5
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
EF EPI Score
Source: World Economic Forum, 2018
19
EUROPE
EF EPI Rankings
01 Netherlands 70.27 14 Croatia 63.07 31 France 57.25

02 Sweden 68.74 15 Hungary 61.86 32 Latvia 56.85
03 Norway 67.93 16 Romania 61.36 35 Spain 55.46
04 Denmark 67.87 17 Serbia 61.30 36 Italy 55.31
07 Finland 65.34 19 Switzerland 60.23 47 Belarus 52.39
08 Austria 64.11 21 Lithuania 60.11 48 Russia 52.14
09 Luxembourg 64.03 22 Greece 59.87 49 Ukraine 52.13
10 Germany 63.77 23 Czech Republic 59.30 50 Albania 51.99
11 Poland 63.76 24 Bulgaria 58.97 56 Georgia 50.62
12 Portugal 63.14 25 Slovakia 58.82 79 Turkey 46.81
13 Belgium 63.09 28 Estonia 58.29 85 Azerbaijan 46.13
20 www.ef.com/epi
Finland
Norway
Sweden
Estonia
Latvia
Denmark Russia
Lithuania
Belarus
Germany
Netherlands
Poland
Belgium
Ukraine
Czech Republic
Luxembourg Slovakia
France
Austria
Switzerland Hungary
Romania
Croatia
Serbia
Bulgaria
Italy Georgia
Albania
Spain Turkey Azerbaijan

Portugal
Greece
21
All together now
What began as an idealistic forum to promote peace has evolved

into the most tightly integrated political and economic union in
the world, enabled by a shared language.
Europe has the highest English Corporate and government-funded adult The gap in English proficiency is
proficiency of any region by a wide training programs are common across particularly concerning because both
margin—even more so if only EU and Europe as well, but these English courses Italy and Spain suffer from high rates of
Schengen Area countries are included are often too short and too low-intensity to unemployment, particularly among the
in the regional average. This success be effective. European countries would young, and could desperately use the
reflects decades of effort by national be able to raise English proficiency new economic opportunities that faster,
education ministries and the EU itself to even further, especially among older smoother communications with the rest of
promote multilingualism. Fast and easy demographics, by instituting adult training Europe would bring.
communication strengthens ties between that is certified externally and normalized
Europeans, as does student exchange, against credentialing systems to ensure East not meeting west
travel, and transnational work. Even as its quality and portability between jobs. English skills continue to lag in countries
growing nationalism challenges the EU on the margins of the European continent.
project, the opposing forces of European Less agile members English proficiency in Turkey has declined
cohesion appear robust. Of the Eurozone’s four largest economies, in the past five years as the country’s
only Germany speaks English well. France, dreams of joining the EU have faded and
On the same page Spain, and Italy lag behind nearly every other priorities have emerged. English
The countries with the highest other member state—a finding that has instruction in schools focuses on grammar
English proficiency in Europe are been consistent across previous editions and translation rather than practical
clustered in Scandinavia, but the number of the EF EPI. Of the three, only France has communication skills, with much of the
of very high proficiency countries across made modest gains over the past two years. content delivered in Turkish. Hundreds
the region has grown every year since According to a recent government report, of elite high schools with a portion of the
2017. School systems in these countries at the age of 15, only a quarter of French instruction delivered in English have been
employ several key strategies, including children are able to string together a few closed across the country for political
an early focus on communication skills, sentences in “more or less correct” English. reasons. As in the Gulf States, Turkish
daily exposure to English both in and Another round of education reforms was graduates often need a year of intensive
outside the classroom, and career-specific announced this year. English preparatory courses before entering
language instruction in the final years of university because their level of English is
study, whether that is vocational school or Our data indicates that English proficiency too low for the degree they plan to pursue.
university. The EU’s robust data-collection in Spain has been declining since 2014.
and information-sharing network has According to the latest polling by CIS, a English proficiency in Russia is not
been helpful in spreading best practices Spanish public research institute, 60% of improving either; the country’s score has
between member countries. adults say they speak no English at all. A hovered within one point of its current
vast project to convert public primary and position for the past five years. A survey
secondary schools into bilingual schools, in in 2014 found that 70% of Russian adults
which up to 30% of the curriculum is taught admitted to having no knowledge of any
in English, has so far had no measurable foreign language, and only 11% said they
effect on adult English proficiency. could have a conversation in English.
22 www.ef.com/epi
EF EPI Trends EF EPI Score Change from Last Year +2.91

+3.12
+2.30 +2.35
Europe experienced more movement +1.76

+1.26 +1.31 +1.38
than last year, with Portugal, Croatia, +0.98 +1.02 +1.05
+0.71
Hungary, and Lithuania improving +0.28
+0.50+0.53
-2.30 -1.98 -1.66 -1.54 -1.14 -0.82 -0.73 -0.69 -0.52 -0.46 -0.45 -0.43 -0.39 -0.36 -0.04 +0.03
significantly and Luxembourg declining
significantly. Three European countries
moved from the High to the Very High
Proficiency band, and three moved from
the Moderate to the Low Proficiency
band—a polarizing effect that is
Czech Republic
particularly notable because the
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Switzerland
Azerbaijan
countries moving down, while on
Germany
Denmark
Lithuania
Romania
Hungary
Portugal
Slovakia
Sweden
Belgium
Bulgaria
Georgia
Norway
Ukraine
Albania
Greece
Croatia
Belarus
Finland
Austria
France
Poland
Turkey
Serbia
Russia
Spain
the European continent, are not part
Italy
of the European Union.
Trending Down Slight Decrease Slight Increase Trending Up
Gender Gap EF EPI Score
Consistent with previous years, women 70

outscored men in Europe, but this gap
has narrowed significantly, from three 65
points last year to less than one point
60
this year. Indeed, men outperformed 57.05 56.37
women in more than half the countries 55 53.23 53.03
in the region, and by significant margins
in Denmark and Romania. Hungary has 50
a significant gender gap in the opposite
direction, though, and a majority of the 45
indexed European countries have gender
gaps smaller than one point. 40
35
30
Europe World
Europe World
Generation Gap EF EPI Score
Age group performance was 70

remarkably stable in Europe as
65
compared to last year, with the
exception of people aged 18-20, who
60 57.75
experienced a small decline. Adults 56.75 57.49 56.49
in their late twenties are the most 55 54.36
52.99 53.08 52.45 53.18
proficient English speakers on the 50.79
continent. The expansion of tertiary 50
English language instruction, often
oriented toward professional use, 45
likely deserves credit for this trend.
40
However, the proficiency variation in
all age groups under 40 in Europe is
35
the narrowest in the world.
30
18-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41+
Age Groups
Europe World
23
ASIA
EF EPI Rankings
05 Singapore 66.82 52 Vietnam 51.57 86 Myanmar 46.00

20 Philippines 60.14 53 Japan 51.51 88 Mongolia 45.56
26 Malaysia 58.55 54 Pakistan 51.41 89 Afghanistan 45.36
33 Hong Kong, China 55.63 61 Indonesia 50.06 93 Kazakhstan 43.83
34 India 55.49 66 Nepal 49.00 94 Cambodia 43.78
37 South Korea 55.04 71 Bangladesh 48.11 95 Uzbekistan 43.18
38 Taiwan, China 54.18 72 Maldives 48.02 99 Kyrgyzstan 41.51
40 China 53.44 74 Thailand 47.61
41 Macau, China 53.34 78 Sri Lanka 47.10
24 www.ef.com/epi
Kazakhstan
Mongolia
Kyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan
China
South Korea
Pakistan
Afghanistan Japan
Nepal
India
Bangladesh
Taiwan, China
Macau, China
Vietnam
Hong Kong, China
Myanmar
Thailand
Philippines
Cambodia
Sri Lanka
Maldives Malaysia
Singapore
Indonesia
25
Room for improvement
For decades, Asia has been the workshop of the world, fueling economic
development across the region. But a transition from manufacturing to
knowledge-driven growth will require better English.
Despite major investments in English Not just for kids In Cambodia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka,
education, in both the private and public The populations of some of Asia’s largest a lack of English proficiency hampers
sectors, the average English proficiency countries are aging quickly. In Japan, for access to jobs in the tourism industry,
score in Asia has remained stable for the example, 28% of people are over 65. This which represents at least 10% of their
past five years. That average, though, demographic shift has led the Japanese economies. With comparatively low wages
masks substantial diversity: Asia is the government to encourage older adults and beautiful scenery, these countries
region with the widest range of English to retire later. But if these experienced already attract over 38 million visitors per
proficiency levels, from Singapore (with employees are to remain productive in year. These visitors are mainly concentrated
a score of 66.82) to Kyrgyzstan (with a a rapidly changing workplace, their longer in resort areas. In order to spread the wealth
score of 41.51). This year, in the population- careers need to be supported by expanded more evenly to different regions and open
weighted regional average, China’s rising adult education provision, including English jobs in tourism to more of the people who
proficiency counterbalances declines in training. That need is especially pressing in want them, schools will need to do a better
most other countries. Japan, where English proficiency levels job teaching English to all students.
have declined for years, even as the
Transforming English education economy stagnates and global trade Education systems in India and Pakistan
Forty years after China opened itself moves elsewhere in Asia. face structural challenges beyond English
to foreign investment and private education. One in every 13 unschooled
business, the country’s transformation Even the wealthiest countries in Asia children in the world lives in Pakistan. A
has been remarkable. Two-thirds of the lag behind Europe in funding for adult recent study in India found that only 27%
world’s decline in poverty since 1990 education outside the workplace. This of third-grade students could do double-
occurred in China. Since 2000, China’s funding oversight is unsustainable. With an digit subtraction, and 38% could not
focus has shifted to developing a world- aging workforce and limited tolerance for read simple words. The fact that so many
class scientific community and cultivating immigration, countries like Japan and South schools in both countries use English as
soft power abroad. Recognizing that Korea need to encourage those already their language of instruction, even though
English proficiency is key to meeting those working to upskill. The benefits are not only most students do not speak the language,
objectives, China has expanded English professional; research suggests that lifelong only makes matters worse. Among other
instruction to schools across the country, learning is protective against dementia. reforms, policymakers in these countries
transitioned from memorization-driven to need to offer more students instruction in
communication-driven teaching, reformed Zones of opportunity their native languages—a policy that actually
the national assessment tool, incentivized English proficiency in Central Asia is helps English learning in the long run, along
foreign-educated Chinese talent to return markedly lower than the rest of the with comprehension of core subjects.
home, and invested in transforming its region, partly because Russian is the
leading universities into world-class most commonly taught second language Asian economies have experienced
research institutions that publish in top in schools. The region, though, is beginning extraordinary economic growth over
English-language journals. Few political to pivot more toward international trade, the past several decades, guided by
leaders can exercise this kind of long-term including with partners outside the orbit leaders who forged global connections
planning and control over their countries, of post-Soviet republics. Kazakhstan and built robust multinational companies.
but the pillars of China’s strategy offer a in particular has been increasing its As Asian countries seek to expand into
replicable model for how policy reform involvement with China through such service and knowledge-based industries,
and targeted investment can raise a high-visibility projects as the Belt and and as the region’s growing middle class
country’s English proficiency level. Road Initiative’s New Eurasian Land Bridge. clamors for more opportunities, it will
In 2018, President Nursultan Nazarbayev be essential to offer high-quality English
announced that agreements for 51 Chinese- instruction to a broader segment of the
Kazakh projects had been signed and 1,200 population. In many cases, that will mean
joint enterprises were already in operation. improving English instruction in schools.
As Central Asia continues to open up to In some contexts, adult instruction is of
global trade, it will experience a more nearly equal importance.
pressing need for English speakers.
26 www.ef.com/epi
EF EPI Trends EF EPI Score Change from Last Year
+2.30
A majority of the countries and
+1.72 +1.77
territories in Asia saw a decline in +1.35
+1.50
overall English proficiency this year, +0.92
+0.65 +0.77
although mostly by fewer than two
-2.29 -1.81 -1.70 -1.64 -1.55 -1.52 -1.36 -1.23 -0.93 -0.77 -0.75 -0.61 -0.29 -0.25
points. Only Taiwan experienced a
significant improvement in English
proficiency. Six countries changed to
a new proficiency band, including Sri
Lanka, which slipped back into the
Hong Kong, China

Very Low Proficiency band that it
Taiwan, China
Macau, China
occupied until 2018.
South Korea
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Philippines
Cambodia
Mongolia*
Singapore
Indonesia
Myanmar
Sri Lanka
Malaysia
Thailand
Vietnam
Pakistan
Japan
China
India
* This country did not appear in the

EF EPI eighth edition, so this score
comes from an earlier edition of
the EF EPI. Trending Down Slight Decrease Slight Increase Trending Up
On average, men and women in Asia 70

speak English at almost exactly the
same level. But gender gaps can be 65
wide in individual countries. Half of the
60
territories surveyed this year in Asia had
a gender gap of one point or more. In 55 53.30 52.71 53.23 53.03
Afghanistan and the Maldives, women
outscored men by at least two points. 50
In Malaysia, it was men who outscored
women by significant margins. 45
40
35
30
Asia World
Asia World
Other than adults aged 26-30, every 70

age group in Asia posted lower English
65
proficiency scores than last year, and,
as in Europe, it is now professionals in 60
their late twenties who have the highest
English proficiency overall. 55 53.38 53.08 54.35 54.36
52.97 52.99 52.48 52.45
50.74 50.79
50
45
40
35
30
18-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41+
Age Groups
Asia World
27
LATIN
AMERICA
EF EPI Rankings
27 Argentina 58.38 58 Peru 50.22

30 Costa Rica 57.38 59 Brazil 50.10
39 Uruguay 54.08 60 El Salvador 50.09
42 Chile 52.89 62 Nicaragua 49.89
43 Cuba 52.70 64 Panama 49.60
44 Dominican Republic 52.58 67 Mexico 48.99
45 Paraguay 52.51 68 Colombia 48.75
46 Guatemala 52.50 73 Venezuela 47.81
51 Bolivia 51.64 81 Ecuador 46.57
57 Honduras 50.53
28 www.ef.com/epi
Cuba
Mexico
Dominican Republic
Guatemala
Honduras
El Salvador Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Venezuela
Panama
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Bolivia Brazil
Paraguay
Chile Uruguay
Argentina
29
Investment brings results
After years of stagnation, plans to improve English proficiency

are finally gaining momentum in Latin America.
Twelve of the 19 Latin American countries In 2015, Uruguay rolled out an ambitious El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras,
included in this year’s EF EPI improved their plan to raise English proficiency, investing infamous for high levels of violence,
adult English proficiency since last year, and in technology to enable remote English have made enormous progress in safety and
five improved significantly, a more positive teaching at schools with no qualified policing. Murder rates are down 50% in El
trend than in any other region. Although the English teacher on site. All urban public Salvador since 2015, and by a similar margin
population-weighted regional average only schools now have either locally or in Honduras since 2011. All three countries
increased slightly, due to the downward remotely taught English lessons, and the have seen significant improvements in their
pressure of Brazil and Mexico, the overall online course offering has been expanded English proficiency since last year. These
trend is encouraging. to teachers to encourage them to upskill. are still by no means safe countries, and,
The results so far are positive, with nearly again, there is no causal link between levels
When investments pay off 80% of students at the end of primary of violence and English proficiency, but it is
In the past two decades, Latin American school testing at an A2 level or above, clear that when people are free to work and
countries have made enormous progress compared to just 56% in 2014. study without fear, society flourishes.
in ensuring that all children have access
to education. Now, attention has shifted to Although it is one of the poorest countries Uneven access
English skills. The Latin American business in Latin America, Bolivia has cut rates Despite laws that make English a required
community is increasingly vocal in its of extreme poverty by half in the past subject in most Latin American countries,
demand for more English speakers, and, in decade and dramatically improved access access to English classes remains uneven.
response, a majority of the region’s countries to schools in rural areas. Literacy rates have In some regions of Mexico, less than 10% of
have rolled out education reforms to teach risen accordingly, and our data shows that schools offer English lessons despite their
English better and more widely. It is too English proficiency is also on the rise, with legal obligation to do so. In Ecuador in 2014,
early to judge these reforms based solely a 2.77 point increase since last year. that figure was less than 7%. Disparities in
on adult proficiency levels, but national access to English education are particularly
testing has shown promising results among With stability, growth acute between rural and urban areas, and
students. Successful models will provide a Latin America is a region plagued by between private and public schools. In
roadmap for countries with less successful violence, with 42 of the world’s 50 deadliest some countries, the demand for English in
programs in the region. cities, as determined by homicide rates. the workplace is so high, and the school
Fifteen of these cities are located in Mexico, provision so poor, that huge numbers of
For the second year running, Costa Rica’s and another 14 are in Brazil. These two professionals invest in English lessons. A
English proficiency has improved. English large countries have also seen their English 2015 study in Brazil found that 87% of adults
has been a required subject there for proficiency scores decline since 2017, and, surveyed had paid for English courses since
decades, but, unlike many countries in the although there is no direct link between completing their education.
region, Costa Rica has invested heavily in this result and levels of violence, both are
teacher training and recruitment. Today indicators of the fragility of state services.
English is taught in every secondary school
and in 87% of primary schools, and nearly
every English teacher holds a tertiary
degree. Testing in 2015 showed that Costa
Rican English teachers have the highest level
of language mastery in the region.
30 www.ef.com/epi
EF EPI Trends EF EPI Score Change from Last Year +2.63 +2.67 +2.73 +2.77
+2.37
Two-thirds of countries in Latin America +1.87 +1.87
experienced improved English proficiency +1.20

this year, with five making significant +0.88 +0.90
+0.67 +0.80
improvements. Only the Dominican
-2.39 -1.95 -0.83 -0.77 -0.38 -0.15
Republic saw a significant decline. Six
countries moved from lower to higher
proficiency bands, and the number of
Latin American countries in the Moderate
Proficiency band more than doubled.
Despite these changes, the score spread
Dominican Republic
in Latin America remains narrow. Only

12 points separate Argentina, the highest
El Salvador
scoring country, from Ecuador, the lowest.
Guatemala
Costa Rica
Venezuela
Nicaragua
Colombia
Argentina
Honduras
Uruguay
Ecuador
Panama
Mexico
Bolivia
Cuba*
Brazil
Chile
Peru
Men scored higher than women for the 70

first time in Latin America, but, as in most
other regions, the gender gap is narrow. 65
Men outscore women in well over half
60
the countries, with a gap of more than
two points in Mexico and Panama. The 55 53.23 53.03
situation is reversed in a few countries, 50.87
but the gender gap is narrow. 50
49.82
45
40
35
30
Latin America World
Latin America World
Older Latin American adults 70

improved their English proficiency,
65
while younger adults did not. In contrast
to demographic patterns elsewhere, 60
adults over 40 in Latin America speak
English as well, on average, as recent 55 54.36
52.99 53.08 52.45
graduates. However, the region has 51.31 51.48 50.85 50.79
49.59 49.36
narrow score differences between age 50
bands, with the highest and lowest
scoring age groups seperated by less 45
than two points. Given the scarcity
40
of government funding for adult
education, the improvements among 35
older adults are probably the result of
corporate training programs, individual 30
investments, and broader exposure to 18-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41+
English-language media. Age Groups
Latin America World
31
AFRICA
EF EPI Rankings
06 South Africa 65.38 83 Cameroon 46.28

18 Kenya 60.51 87 Sudan 45.94
29 Nigeria 58.26 90 Algeria 45.28
63 Ethiopia 49.64 91 Angola 44.54
65 Tunisia 49.04 96 Ivory Coast 42.41
76 Morocco 47.19 100 Libya 40.87
77 Egypt 47.11
32 www.ef.com/epi
Tunisia
Algeria
Morocco
Libya
Egypt
Sudan
Nigeria
Ethiopia
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Kenya
Angola
South Africa
33
New generations, new opportunities
The past decade has seen a surge of foreign investment in

infrastructure and business projects in Africa. Better English
would strengthen these international collaborations.
While European colonial powers, in 21 of the world’s 30 fastest growing urban as well as a link to the wider world. The
particular France, have long maintained areas. African education systems are largely challenge of deciding which language
close relationships with African countries, unprepared to train so many young people, to teach in mixed-language communities
it is China that has driven the most raising the possibility that vast numbers of is significant, but the educational
recent wave of foreign investment in the poorly educated young adults will struggle advantages of several years of native-
continent. Today, Africa is buzzing with large to find economic opportunities while language education for every child make
infrastructure projects, trade deals, and migratory pressures on Europe remain high. overcoming those challenges worthwhile.
new business ventures. More than 320 new
embassies and consulates opened in Africa Mother tongue education Explain yourself
between 2010 and 2016. But past scrambles Colonial history has linked European Adults in North Africa speak English at
for the continent’s wealth, marked by languages with high social status in levels similar to their peers in the Middle
violence and colonial oppression, cast a the minds of many Africans. As a result, East. Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia have
long shadow. Better English proficiency local school systems often prioritize complex linguistic landscapes, with local
would help foreign investors and their teaching in English or French, rather dialects of Arabic, Berber, French, and
African partners to deliver more transparent than local languages. Modern Standard Arabic all serving
contracts and smoother cooperation. various roles in private life, the education
It is time to end that practice. A robust system, and the public sphere. English is
Mind the gap body of research shows that children a relative newcomer to the mix, but it is
In this year’s Index, there is a yawning who are not taught to read and write in increasingly valued, particularly for its
proficiency gap between Kenya, Nigeria, their native language are at a permanent neutrality and business potential. Algeria,
and South Africa—which all fall in the disadvantage, yet nearly every sub-Saharan Libya, and Tunisia have all experienced
upper portion of the Index, and which have African country uses a colonial language as modest improvements in English
three of the largest economies in Africa— the language of instruction in its education proficiency since last year, although
and the other ten countries surveyed. system, with the exception of Ethiopia, they will need to invest more in English
Unfortunately, we only have enough data Eritrea, and Tanzania. A recent study of 12 education if they are to prepare their
to include 13 countries in Africa in this schools in Cameroon that switched from young workforces for entrepreneurship in
year’s Index. That is more than ever before, teaching in English to teaching in Kom, the internationally competitive markets.
but it is still too few to get a clear picture children’s native language, found that after
of the continent as a whole. There may, in five years Kom-medium children performed More openness and exchange would
fact, be a wide gap between high and low better in all subjects, including English. benefit North Africa considerably,
proficiency countries, or it may be that there Kenya introduced daily Kiswahili lessons in both economically and socially. A
is more of a spectrum of skill levels than this primary schools this year, although the bulk quarter of young men in the region are
data indicates. We can only encourage more of instruction remains in English. unemployed, and it remains one of the
African adults to test their English so that lowest-performing regions in the world
Because many African countries have in terms of gender equality. Only 26%
future editions will be more complete.
diverse linguistic landscapes, switching of women find work outside the home,
Inequality is endemic across Africa. In cities, to native-language instruction requires and those who do are paid 30-50%
it is common to see skyscrapers surrounded significant investments in curriculum less than their male counterparts. These
by slums. The gap between urban and development, but ensuring that all children gender roles, combined with media-fed
rural standards of living is often equally are literate in their mother tongue is well fears of terrorism and the lack of English
jarring. There are structural and historical worth the money. There are advantages to skills, contribute to the “othering” of
reasons for these inequalities, and rapid speaking an international language such North Africans, cutting them off from the
population growth and urbanization are as English or French as well, and in regions economic opportunities they
aggravating the problem. The UN projects with several commonly spoken languages, so desperately seek.
that the population of Africa will double in either of these international languages may
the next 35 years. The continent is home to serve as a bridge between communities
34 www.ef.com/epi

+3.83
Most African countries included in the

Index did not experience a significant +1.54
+1.05 +1.19 +1.23
change in proficiency level, although +0.78
both Nigeria and Tunisia moved to a -1.65 -1.15 -1.14 -0.91
higher proficiency band. Both Cameroon
(which did not have enough data to be
included in last year’s Index) and Nigeria
experienced significant improvement
between 2017 and 2019. Egypt is the
only country in Africa to have moved to
South Africa
Cameroon*
a lower proficiency band since 2018.
Morocco
Angola*
Ethiopia
Nigeria
Algeria
Tunisia
Egypt
Libya
Women’s average English proficiency 70

is better than men’s in Africa, although
the gender gap has shrunk since last year. 65
Women outscored men in every African
60
country except Egypt and South Africa,
and in those two countries the gender 55 53.23 53.03
gaps are extremely narrow.
50.60 49.97
50
45
40
35
30
Africa World
Africa World
Young adults in Africa have the best 70

English proficiency, with a significant
65
gap between adults under 30 and older
adults. On such a young continent, this
60
is promising news. As in other regions, it
is not the youngest adults who speak the 55 54.36
52.99 53.08 52.45
best English, but those in their twenties. 51.75 51.06 50.79
50.46
These young adults have had the 50 48.88
opportunity to use English in university 45.03
or at work. The impact of actually putting 45
one’s English to good use is clear—
40
English improves with practice.
35
30
18-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41+
Age Groups
Africa World
35
MIDDLE
EAST
EF EPI Rankings
55 Bahrain 50.92 82 Syria 46.36

69 Iran 48.69 84 Kuwait 46.22
70 U.A.E. 48.19 92 Oman 44.39
75 Jordan 47.21 97 Iraq 42.39
80 Qatar 46.79 98 Saudi Arabia 41.60
36 www.ef.com/epi
Iran
Syria Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Bahrain
Qatar
Saudi Arabia U.A.E.
Oman
37
Ready for change
Once at the forefront of science, literature, and trade, the cultures of

the Middle East are today more marginal to cutting-edge research and
economic production. But change may be coming to the region.
Half of the population of the Middle East In some ways, it is surprising that In other countries, the arrival of large
is under 30, and it has become clear that English proficiency is not higher. The numbers of refugees has stressed the
the public sector cannot afford to employ Middle East is diverse; in most countries education system, redirecting resources
all of them. In addition, petroleum and in the region, more than 30% of the towards provision of basic services. More
gas-rich countries understand that carbon- population is foreign-born. Although a than one million Afghans live in Iran, and
based economies will soon become a portion of those immigrants speak Arabic more than two million Palestinians and one
thing of the past. In the past two decades, when they arrive, many do not. Additionally, million Syrians live in Jordan, a country
these countries have invested more in nearly a million students are enrolled in of fewer than 10 million people. Some
education—a wise decision considering private, English-language K-12 schools countries have experienced gains in English
their young populations. in the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia, representing proficiency despite turmoil; Iraq, emerging
20% of the total population of students from the tumult of the past two decades,
Opportunities of youth at international schools worldwide. Many has the most improved English proficiency
The Gulf States have transformed higher education institutions in the Gulf of any country in the region.
their higher education systems in the States teach some or all of their courses
past two decades. Among other reforms, in English, and government-funded Fragile economies, persistent conflict, and
government leaders have loosened public scholarships have sent more than over-reliance on public sector employment
universities’ monopolies, supporting private 200,000 university students to the US are among the challenges facing Middle
institutions that bring in Western-trained or UK to earn a degree. Yet the average Eastern countries that want to equip their
academics and offer courses in English. level of English in the region remains low. youthful populations with the skills required
Officials in the U.A.E. and Qatar have also for the global workforce. Meeting these
invited elite Western universities to set up The challenges ahead challenges could have a transformative
satellite campuses in their countries. This In some countries, the problem appears effect on the region, and improving the
competition has pushed public universities to be uneven access to English education region’s poor English proficiency will be an
to reform, westernizing their curricula resources. Our data finds that Dubai and essential part of that transition. It remains
and switching to English for some Tehran, for example, have much higher to be seen whether that transition can be
degree programs. levels of English proficiency than their made smoothly amid regional tensions and
countries as a whole. Saudi Arabia’s a changing global energy market.
Disappointing results population is spread over a huge and
Unfortunately, progress in teaching basic unevenly developed territory, with varying
skills to schoolchildren has been slower, and levels of access to English instruction in
many countries have been forced to set up schools. Placing qualified English teachers
programs to help transition students from in every school is admittedly difficult,
secondary school to university. Literacy particularly when the number of English-
rates have risen rapidly across the region, speaking adults is so low, but other large
but in the latest PISA testing, 15-year-olds countries like China have tackled the same
in the three participating Middle Eastern problem. Hiring teachers from abroad is
countries—Jordan, Qatar, and the U.A.E.— the solution preferred by many private
scored at the lowest available benchmarks schools and universities in the Middle East,
for reading, math, and science. In the latest but building a local professional class of
TIMSS tests of fourth graders in math English-speaking teachers would be a
and science, eight of the world’s 11 lowest- more sustainable solution.
scoring countries were in the Middle East.
Our data tells the same story: English
proficiency in the region is by far the
lowest of any region in the world.
38 www.ef.com/epi
Few countries in the Middle East +1.57

experienced significant score changes +0.92
in the Index this year, with the exceptions +0.40 +0.58
-2.05 -1.40 -1.17 -0.01 +0.11
of Saudi Arabia, which underwent
a significant decline, and Iran, which
moved up one proficiency band. The
Middle East has the narrowest score
spread of any region, with only nine
points separating the highest scorer,
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain, from the lowest, Saudi Arabia.
Jordan
Kuwait
Qatar*
Oman
U.A.E.
Syria
Iraq
Iran
A significant gender gap in English 70

proficiency in the Middle East has
appeared this year, with men outscoring 65
women by nearly three points. Although
60
women represent more than 50% of the
university population in every country 55 53.23 53.03
in the region, unfortunately they are still
far less likely to work after graduation, 50
giving them few opportunities to use the 46.00
English they have learned in school. 45 43.20
40
35
30
Middle East World
Middle East World
The Middle East has a relatively 70

narrow spread of proficiency scores
65
among age groups. Unfortunately, this
data suggests that schools are teaching 60
English no better than in the past, as
both the 18-20 and 21-25 age groups 55 54.36
52.99 53.08 52.45
experienced significant drops in English 50.79
proficiency. Indeed, as in Latin America, 50
young graduates in the Middle East 45.90
44.61 44.48
speak English at roughly the same level 45 43.39
42.50
as adults over 40.
40
35
30
18-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41+
Age Groups
Middle East World
39
Conclusions
English is, by far, the most widely studied second language in the world.
Ninety-seven percent of European Click here to meet your English teacher The forever student
secondary students are learning it; it is Technology helped create this problem. Children’s brains are particularly
a required subject in schools across much It may also help solve it. While giving well adapted to learning languages, but
of Asia and Latin America; the majority out laptops to children is demonstrably the idea that adults cannot learn English
of countries in Africa use English as the ineffective, true digitalization—including has been thoroughly disproven. In a rapidly
language of instruction; more than 90% teacher training on using the new tools—has evolving society, we cannot possibly hope
of the people who learn a language with enormous promise in the English-language to learn everything we need to know in
EF each year choose to study English. classroom. Ed-tech can connect students the first quarter of our lives for successful
to authentic source materials and practice careers in the subsequent three quarters. As
Yet despite these massive public and modules, allowing teachers to individualize the world of work changes, a fundamental
private investments in teaching English, instruction. Chatbots let students practice cultural shift towards lifelong learning is
results are frustratingly uneven. Pupils with conversation without waiting their turn in both necessary and inevitable.
years of classroom instruction often cannot a large class. Teachers can receive subject-
hold a conversation. Professionals see their specific support, coaching, and professional The promise of technology is, if
prospects limited when their English skills development more consistently. anything, even greater for adults.
cannot keep up with their ambitions. The flexibility of online English learning
In countries without enough qualified is perfectly suited to corporate training
Why is there such a mismatch between the English teachers—which is the vast and personal upskilling. A distributed
supply and demand for English proficiency? majority of them—a device loaded network of teachers can give adults access
It is largely due to the speed with which with instructional material and an AI to higher quality instruction than available
English rose in value in the workplace. In may eventually allow students to learn locally, and for a lower price. Universally
1989, the Internet was not available to the basic English on their own. For now, the recognized micro-credentials for English
public, and English, when it was taught at all, urgency of training teachers can hardly training would help reassure professionals
was offered alongside other electives. Fast- be overstated. Again, technology can and government sponsors about the quality
forward 30 years and our hyper-connected help. Many education ministries already of the courses they are investing in.
world uses English as its common tongue. understand that overhauling teacher
According to Cambridge English, three- training programs and upskilling their
quarters of companies worldwide say current teachers—in English and in other
English is important to their business. subjects—must be their top priorities.
Those students who were attending school Leveraging technology to deliver teacher
in 1989 and in the preceding decades are training at scale is a real possibility.
the core of the global workforce. Some
speak enough English. Many do not.
40 www.ef.com/epi
The myth of quick and easy Speaking the same language schools are popular with parents who
The Internet is littered with blog posts Worldwide, many people face common hope their children will join that elite. But
offering three amazing tips, five easy steps, misconceptions about English-medium several large-scale testing initiatives have
and 10 great things anyone can do to learn schools. Using English as the language shown that when children are taught in
English. If it were that simple, there would of instruction makes perfect sense, of a language they do not understand, by
be no demand for English speakers course, in communities where students teachers whose English is poor, they do
because everyone would already be one. speak English at home, or as part of a not learn English—and they do not learn
The reality is that an adult who does not genuine bilingual education program, but anything else, either.
speak English will need at least 600 hours it creates problems everywhere else. A large
of high-quality instruction and 600 hours and definitive body of research shows that, Worldwide English proficiency has
of speaking practice to master English well in order to grow into literate and numerate never been higher. This reflects the
enough for the average workplace. People adults, students must learn to read and write results of thousands of large and
whose native language is very different from in their native language. That conclusion small-scale efforts to teach English
English, who require advanced English skills, sounds perfectly obvious to native speakers around the world. But we are a long way
or who have no experience learning foreign of Mandarin, Spanish, and other high- from having a language that the whole
languages will need quite a bit more time. status languages, but for native speakers world shares. People want to connect,
of hundreds of lower-status languages, a they need to connect, and yet billions
The myth of quick and easy language mother tongue education is not available. are being left behind. Governments,
learning frustrates individual learners education systems, and companies
when their progress does not match The problem is particularly widespread must do more to ensure that English
their expectations. Many choose an in sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Pakistan, and the opportunities it affords are
English course with just a few hours of where colonial history has given English open to everyone.
class per week, thinking it will be enough. a special status, even in areas where
Most give up well before reaching the students, parents, and teachers know very
1,200 hour mark. The myth also derails little English. The English-speaking elite
employers and governments that invest in see no reason to change a system that
large-scale English training. They opt for empowers them, and English-language
less extensive programs and programs
that offer participants no opportunities to
actually speak English. The smaller price
tag is only attractive until they measure the
results. Busting the myth that a language
can be learned without lots of time and
practice would improve the efficiency of
both public and private investments.
41
Recommendations
Most organizations and individuals are convinced of the

advantages of English proficiency in the modern world.
Not everyone knows how to get there.
Demand for English learning software, For companies For governments and education
sites, classes, and study abroad programs authorities
has never been higher. What people are • Set realistic goals that take into
less sure of is how to improve English account the hours needed to close • Consider the hours available in
proficiency in their organizations, in the gap between current and target the curriculum and the proficiency
their countries, in their schools, and for proficiency levels for each individual. level achievable for each major
themselves. Many have wasted time educational milestone.
• Build a culture of internationalism and
and money on schemes that did not
mobility, including in branch offices. • Use large-scale assessment of
deliver. Many are frustrated by missed
both teachers and students to
opportunities. The truth is that there • Use platforms that facilitate benchmark a starting point and
is no single solution that will work in frequent contact between teams track progress over time.
every situation, but there are patterns in different countries.
that characterize the most successful • Adjust entrance and exit exams so
English programs. • Build diverse, multi-national teams in that they evaluate communicative
all functions, including the back office. English skills.
• Test the entire workforce to identify • Include English in the training
strategic weaknesses in English. regimens for all new teachers.
• Train employees using a role-specific • Re-train English teachers in
English curriculum. communicative teaching methods
if they were initially trained using
• Leverage technology to bring
other methods.
flexible learning at scale.
• Ensure that English is taught only by
• Set minimum standards of English
people who speak the language well
proficiency for different roles, and test
enough to instruct in it.
that those standards are being met.
• Set a minimum level required to
• Hire strong English speakers.
teach English, test instructors regularly,
• Reward employees who invest time and train those who miss the mark.
in improving their English.
• Encourage executives and managers

to lead by example and share their
experiences as English learners.
42 www.ef.com/epi
• Teach children to read and write in For teachers, schools, and universities For individuals
their own native language first.
• Teach English using a communication- • Play the long game: plan for the
• Assess the English skills of all public based methodology. hundreds of hours it takes to move
servants and provide training as from one proficiency level to the next.
necessary, not only for their current • Give students frequent opportunities
jobs, but also for their careers. to speak English through activities • Be aware of growing competence
like English clubs, theme days, at different stages and celebrate
• Provide English language instruction classroom twinning, school trips, your successes.
in job centers and unemployment and guest speakers.
reduction programs. • Study English every day, even if only
• Provide a forum for teachers to share for a few minutes.
• Give adults access to lifelong best practices and get advice about
learning programs. teaching English effectively. • Study in sessions of 20-30 minutes
rather than for hours at a time.
• Ensure that government-funded • Give teachers a straightforward path
adult language courses are long to improve their own English. • Set specific, achievable goals and
enough and intensive enough for write them down.
learners to meet their goals. • Include English language requirements
for all university majors. • Memorize vocabulary relevant to
• Develop standardized micro- your job or field of study and begin
credentials that certify course • Allow subject classes to be taught in using it immediately.
quality and improve skill portability. English if both the students and the
professor meet the requisite English level. • Practice speaking, even if it’s just
• Allow TV shows and movies to be reading a book aloud.
shown in their original language,
• Watch TV, read, or listen to the
with subtitles rather than dubbing.
radio in English.
• When traveling to an English-speaking

country, speak as much as possible.
43
APPENDIX A
About the Index
Methodology Test Takers Sampling Biases

This ninth edition of the EF EPI is based Although the sample of test takers for the The test-taking population represented
on test data from more than 2,300,000 EF EPI is biased toward respondents who in this Index is self-selected and not
test takers around the world who took the are interested in pursuing language study guaranteed to be representative. Only
EF Standard English Test (EF SET) or one and younger adults, the sample is balanced those who want to learn English or are
of our English placement tests in 2018. between male and female respondents and curious about their English skills will
represents adult language learners from a participate in one of these tests. This
The EF Standard English Test (EF SET) broad range of ages. could skew scores lower or higher than
The EF SET is an online, adaptive English those of the general population. However,
test of reading and listening skills. It is • Female respondents comprised 59% there is no incentive for test takers to
a standardized, objectively scored test of the overall sample. inflate their scores artificially on these
designed to classify test takers’ language low-stakes tests by cheating, as the
abilities into one of the six levels established • The median age of adult respondents
results are purely for personal use.
by the Common European Framework was 23.
of Reference (CEFR). The EF SET is The EF SET is free and online, so anyone
• 83% of all respondents were under
available to any Internet user for free. with an Internet connection can participate.
the age of 35, and 99% were under
For more information about the research Almost all of our test takers are working
the age of 60.
and development of the EF SET, visit adults or young adults finishing their studies.
www.efset.org/research/. • The median age of male respondents was People without Internet access would be
24, slightly higher than the median age of automatically excluded. The EF SET site
EF EPI 2019 scores have been found to is fully adaptive and 30% of test takers
female respondents, which was 23.
correlate strongly with TOEFL iBT 2017 complete the exam from a mobile device.
scores (r=0.80) and IELTS Academic Test Only cities, regions, and countries with
2017 scores (r=0.74). These correlations a minimum of 400 test takers were In parts of the world where Internet usage
show that, while these tests have different included in the Index, but in most cases is low, we would expect the impact of an
designs and test taker profiles, they reveal the number of test takers was far greater. online format to be strong. This sampling
similar trends in national English proficiency. Senegal, Lebanon, and Slovenia were bias would tend to pull scores upward by
included in the previous edition of the EF excluding poorer and less educated people.
EPI but did not have enough test takers Nevertheless, open access online tests
to be included in this edition. have proven effective in gathering very
large amounts of data about a range of
indicators, and we believe they provide
valuable information about global English
proficiency levels.
44 www.ef.com/epi
Score Calculation a single age group, country, region, or test improvement. Unfortunately, those national
To calculate an EF EPI score, we used taker profile. The EF EPI is broad, examining assessments are not comparable to
five weighted components which include working-aged adults around the world using each other, and they are not administered
four English tests and the EF EPI from a common assessment method. There is to adults, so while they give a good
2018. Inclusion of the previous year’s Index no other data set of comparable size and indication of English proficiency among
helps to stabilize scores year over year, but scope, and, despite its limitations, we, high school students in one part of the
test takers from the previous year are not along with many policymakers, scholars, world, they cannot be used for international
counted in the total test taker count and analysts, believe it to be a valuable comparison, nor can they tell us much
for the current year. Regional averages reference point in the global conversation about adult English proficiency levels.
are weighted by population. about English language education.
Related EF EPI Reports
Based on score thresholds, we assign The EF EPI is created through a different The EF EPI research series has two
countries, regions, and cities to proficiency process from the one used by public separate reports: this main EF EPI report,
bands. This allows recognition of clusters opinion research organizations such as which is published annually and looks at
with similar English skill levels and Euromonitor and Gallup, or by the OECD adult English proficiency; and the EF EPI
comparisons within and between regions. in skills surveys such as PISA and PIAAC. for Schools (EF EPI-s), which is published
The proficiency bands are aligned to Those studies select survey participants biennially and looks at English proficiency
the Common European Framework of using age, gender, level of education, among secondary school and university
Reference (CEFR) and EF’s course levels: income, and other factors. Their survey students. This year, we are publishing the
panels tend to be small, with at most a few EF EPI ninth edition and the EF EPI-s third
• The Very High Proficiency band thousand participants. Because they have edition. All EF EPI reports are available for
corresponds to CEFR level B2. been composed using complex sampling download at www.ef.com/epi.
methods, they are considered representative
• The High, Moderate, and Low EF Education First
of the entire population. Unfortunately, no
Proficiency bands correspond to CEFR EF Education First (www.ef.com) is an
such survey of English skills has ever been
level B1, with each band corresponding international education company that
performed at an international level.
to a single EF course level. focuses on language, academics, cultural
Another source of data about English exchange, and educational travel. Founded
• The Very Low Proficiency band
proficiency comes from national education in 1965, EF’s mission is “opening the world
corresponds to CEFR level A2.
systems. Many schools test the English skills through education.” With more than 600
Other Data Sources of every high school student or university schools and offices in 50 countries, EF is
The EF EPI does not aim to compete with applicant using a standardized national the Official Language Training Partner for
or contradict national test results, language assessment. The results may or may not be the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic
polling data, or any other data set. Instead, made public, but educators and government Games. The EF English Proficiency Index is
these data sets complement each other. officials use the data to assess the efficacy published by Signum International AG.
Some are granular but limited in scope to of education reform and pinpoint areas for
45
APPENDIX B
EF EPI
Proficiency Bands
About EF EPI Proficiency Bands Proficiency Sample Tasks

The EF English Proficiency Index
Very High Use nuanced and appropriate language
places the surveyed countries and
Netherlands in social situations
territories into five proficiency bands,
Singapore Read advanced texts with ease
from Very High to Very Low. The bands Sweden Negotiate a contract with a native
make it easier to identify countries and
English speaker
regions with similar skill levels and to draw
comparisons between and within regions.
In the chart on the right, we give examples

of tasks that an individual could accomplish
at each proficiency band. The selection of High Make a presentation at work
tasks is not meant to be exhaustive, but it is Hungary Understand TV shows
a useful reference for understanding how Kenya Read a newspaper
skills advance across the bands. Philippines
It is important to keep in mind that

a proficiency band merely indicates the
level of the “average” person. The EF EPI
seeks to compare countries and territories, Moderate Participate in meetings in one’s area
which necessitates overlooking individual China of expertise
strengths and weaknesses. Costa Rica Understand song lyrics
France Write professional emails on
familiar subjects
Low Navigate an English-speaking country

Bolivia as a tourist
Pakistan Engage in small talk with colleagues
Russia Understand simple emails from colleagues
Very Low Introduce oneself simply

Bangladesh ( name, age, country of origin)
Maldives Understand simple signs
U.A.E. Give basic directions to a foreign visitor
46 www.ef.com/epi
APPENDIX C
CEFR Levels
and Can-Do Statements
Proficient User
C2 • Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read.
• Can summarize information from different spoken and written sources,
reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.
• Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently, and precisely,
differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.
C1 • Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and

recognize implicit meaning.
• Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious
searching for expressions.
• Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic,
and professional purposes.
• Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects,
showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors, and
cohesive devices.
Independent User
B2 • Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and
abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.
• Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular
interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
• Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain
a viewpoint on a topical issue, giving the advantages and disadvantages of
various options.
B1 • Can understand the main points of clear standard input on

familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.
• Can deal with most situations likely to arise while traveling in
an area where the language is spoken.
• Can produce simple connected text on topics that are
familiar or of personal interest.
• Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes, and ambitions
and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
Basic User
A2 • Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions
related to most relevant areas (e.g., very basic personal and family
information, shopping, local geography, employment).
• Can communicate during routine tasks requiring a simple and
direct exchange of information on familiar matters.
• Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background,
immediate environment, and matters in areas of immediate need.
A1 • Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very

basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type.
• Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer
questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people
he/she knows, and things he/she has.
• Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks
slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
Quoted From the Council of Europe

All countries and regions in the EF EPI fall into bands corresponding to levels A2-B2.
47
APPENDIX D EF EPI 8th Edition EF EPI 9th Edition Score Change
EF EPI Netherlands 70.31 70.27 -0.04

Country and Sweden 70.72 68.74 -1.98
Region Scores Norway 68.38 67.93 -0.45

Denmark 67.34 67.87 +0.53
Singapore 68.63 66.82 -1.81
A look at changes South Africa 66.52 65.38 -1.14
in English skills over Finland 65.86 65.34 -0.52
the past year Austria 63.13 64.11 +0.98
The EF EPI score change is Luxembourg 66.33 64.03 -2.30
the difference between EF EPI
Germany 63.74 63.77 +0.03
eighth edition and ninth edition
scores. Any change greater Poland 62.45 63.76 +1.31
than two points—positive or Portugal 60.02 63.14 +3.12
negative—indicates a significant
Belgium 63.52 63.09 -0.43
shift in English ability. The EF EPI
eighth edition used test data from Croatia 60.16 63.07 +2.91
2017, and the ninth from 2018.
Hungary 59.51 61.86 +2.35
Romania 60.31 61.36 +1.05
Serbia 60.04 61.30 +1.26
Kenya — 60.51 New
Switzerland 61.77 60.23 -1.54
Philippines 61.84 60.14 -1.70
Lithuania 57.81 60.11 +2.30
Greece 58.49 59.87 +1.38
Czech Republic 59.99 59.30 -0.69
Bulgaria 57.95 58.97 +1.02
Slovakia 58.11 58.82 +0.71
Malaysia 59.32 58.55 -0.77
Argentina 57.58 58.38 +0.80
Estonia 63.73* 58.29 -5.44
Nigeria 56.72 58.26 +1.54
Costa Rica 55.01 57.38 +2.37
France 55.49 57.25 +1.76
Latvia 57.16* 56.85 -0.31
Hong Kong, China 56.38 55.63 -0.75
India 57.13 55.49 -1.64
Spain 55.85 55.46 -0.39
Italy 55.77 55.31 -0.46
South Korea 56.27 55.04 -1.23
Taiwan, China 51.88 54.18 +2.30
Uruguay 53.41 54.08 +0.67
China 51.94 53.44 +1.50
Macau, China 52.57 53.34 +0.77
Chile 52.01 52.89 +0.88
Cuba 50.83* 52.70 +1.87
Dominican Republic 54.97 52.58 -2.39
Paraguay — 52.51 New
Guatemala 50.63 52.50 +1.87
Belarus 53.53 52.39 -1.14
Russia 52.96 52.14 -0.82
Ukraine 52.86 52.13 -0.73
Albania 51.49 51.99 +0.50
48 www.ef.com/epi
EF EPI 8th Edition EF EPI 9th Edition Score Change
* This country or region did not
Bolivia 48.87 51.64 +2.77
appear in the EF EPI eighth edition,
so this score comes from an earlier Vietnam 53.12 51.57 -1.55
edition of the EF EPI. Japan 51.80 51.51 -0.29
Pakistan 51.66 51.41 -0.25
Bahrain — 50.92 New
Georgia 52.28 50.62 -1.66
Honduras 47.80 50.53 +2.73
Peru 49.32 50.22 +0.90
Brazil 50.93 50.10 -0.83
El Salvador 47.42 50.09 +2.67
Indonesia 51.58 50.06 -1.52
Nicaragua 47.26 49.89 +2.63
Ethiopia 50.79 49.64 -1.15
Panama 49.98 49.60 -0.38
Tunisia 47.85 49.04 +1.19
Nepal — 49.00 New
Mexico 49.76 48.99 -0.77
Colombia 48.90 48.75 -0.15
Iran 48.29 48.69 +0.40
U.A.E. 47.27 48.19 +0.92
Bangladesh 48.72 48.11 -0.61
Maldives — 48.02 New
Venezuela 46.61 47.81 +1.20
Thailand 48.54 47.61 -0.93
Jordan 47.10 47.21 +0.11
Morocco 48.10 47.19 -0.91
Egypt 48.76 47.11 -1.65
Sri Lanka 49.39 47.10 -2.29
Turkey 47.17 46.81 -0.36
Qatar 48.19* 46.79 -1.40
Ecuador 48.52 46.57 -1.95
Syria 46.37 46.36 -0.01
Cameroon 42.45* 46.28 +3.83
Kuwait 45.64 46.22 +0.58
Azerbaijan 45.85 46.13 +0.28
Myanmar 44.23 46.00 +1.77
Sudan — 45.94 New
Mongolia 44.21* 45.56 +1.35
Afghanistan 43.64 45.36 +1.72
Algeria 44.50 45.28 +0.78
Angola 43.49* 44.54 +1.05
Oman 45.56 44.39 -1.17
Kazakhstan 45.19 43.83 -1.36
Cambodia 42.86 43.78 +0.92
Uzbekistan 42.53 43.18 +0.65
Ivory Coast — 42.41 New
Iraq 40.82 42.39 +1.57
Saudi Arabia 43.65 41.60 -2.05
Kyrgyzstan — 41.51 New
Libya 39.64 40.87 +1.23
49
APPENDIX E
Selected
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2019

1. 2.3 million test takers, a 77% increase

2. Eight new countries: Bahrain, Ivory

3. Indications that men are catching up to

4. A closer look at how English proficiency,

5. A detailed look at students’ English in the

In today’s world, the English language demonstrates a strong

Very High Proficiency High Proficiency Moderate Proficiency

Very High Proficiency High Proficiency Moderate Proficiency

Who are the test takers?

How do gender and age affect English proficiency?

Global Gender Gap Global Generation Gap

EF EPI 2019 regional trends

Europe Asia Africa Latin America Middle East

Highest Score Netherlands Singapore South Africa Argentina Bahrain

Lowest Score Azerbaijan Kyrgyzstan Libya Ecuador Saudi Arabia

Most Improved Portugal Taiwan, China Cameroon Bolivia Iraq

EF EPI 2019 regional scores

EF EPI Regional Averages

Proficiency Bands Very High High Moderate Low Very Low

Source: World Bank, 2016

Proficiency Bands GRAPH A

Very High English and Talent

English and Scholarship

Mexico China EF EPI Score

Modern workplaces are evolving rapidly, driven by Public vs. Private

Banking & Finance

Fast-moving Consumer Goods

Mining & Energy

Food & Beverage

Left out of the team Getting a promotion

EF EPI by Job Function EF EPI by Seniority

EF EPI Score 20 40 60 EF EPI Score 20 40 60

Strategy & Planning

Purchasing & Procurement

Admin & Clerical

Executive Manager Staff

Proficiency Bands Very High High Moderate Low Very Low

English pays off

4,975USD 6,040USD Very High

Source: World Bank, 2017

Proficiency Bands GRAPH C

Very High English and Productivity

English and Human Capital

0.8 Costa Rica

Talk to the world

Source: Global Connectedness Index, 2018

Proficiency Bands GRAPH E

Very High English and International Engagement

Very Low U.A.E. Denmark

English and Gender Equality

01 Netherlands 70.27 14 Croatia 63.07 31 France 57.25

Proficiency Bands Very High High Moderate Low Very Low

Spain Turkey Azerbaijan

What began as an idealistic forum to promote peace has evolved

EF EPI Trends EF EPI Score Change from Last Year +2.91

Europe experienced more movement +1.76

Trending Down Slight Decrease Slight Increase Trending Up

Gender Gap EF EPI Score

Consistent with previous years, women 70

Generation Gap EF EPI Score

Age group performance was 70

05 Singapore 66.82 52 Vietnam 51.57 86 Myanmar 46.00

Proficiency Bands Very High High Moderate Low Very Low